lesson components prior learning: standards(texas...

Austin ISD Updated 7/20/15

Grade level: Fourth Grade Reading Lesson Name: First 20 Days of Reading - Week 2 Grading Period: 1st 9 Weeks, Arc 2 Estimated timeframe: Dual Language –Spanish Language Arts, 10 days (Aug. 24-Sept.4), 30-35 min. daily Monolingual – 5 days (Aug. 31-Sept.4), 60 min. daily

These lessons are appropriate for both Monolingual teachers and Dual Language teachers.

Lesson Components Lesson Objectives: Students will record the characteristics of folktale books and write a definition of the various types of folktales. They will compare and contrast the story elements of several texts. Students will use the story elements and the ways characters change to develop themes for folktales. They will differentiate between the main idea and theme of a story. Students will practice beginning of year Reading Workshop procedures and routines that are expectations for the remainder of the year. Language Objectives: The students will use academic language to discuss and write to compare story elements and the main events of various folktales to paraphrase and identify the theme. Prior Learning: Identify moral lessons as themes in well-known fables, legends, myths or stories

Standards(Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills):

4.3 Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Theme and Genre. Students analyze, make inferences and draw conclusions about theme and genre in different cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. 4.3A summarize and explain the lesson or message of a work of fiction as its theme 4.3B compare and contrast the adventures or exploits of characters (e.g., the trickster) in traditional and classical literature

4.6 Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Fiction. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about structure and elements of fiction and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to: 4.6A sequence and summarize the plot’s main events and explain their influence on future events 4.6B describe the interaction of characters including their relationships and the changes they undergo

College and Career Readiness:

Locate explicit textual information, draw complex inferences, and analyze and evaluate the information within and across texts of varying lengths.

Draw and support complex inferences from text to summarize and draw conclusions.

Generate ideas and gather information relevant to the topic and purpose, keeping careful records of outside sources.

Listen effectively in informal and formal situations.

Essential Questions: How does understanding the structures and features of a text help you to comprehend better when reading?

What do good readers do to identify the message or theme behind the story the author has written?

How does finding the theme of a story help you as a reader?

Enduring Understandings: Each genre has a unique structure, with specific elements that help the reader differentiate it from other

genres.

The story elements of a text help the reader to understand the plot and the theme of the story.

Knowing the theme of a story helps the reader to make connections to his own life.

In a reading workshop, readers have daily time for reading from books they choose to read. They talk to reading partners about what they are reading and write to learn to help them think about what they are reading. Readers monitor their comprehension and use fix-up strategies when meaning breaks down.


Vocabulary Essential: Genre, theme, literary, fable, myth, tall tale, legend, fairy tale, plot, characters, setting, problem, solution, moral, infer, visualize, purpose

Lesson Preparation

Searching for a Theme Graphic Organizer (found at the end of this lesson plan)

Main Idea vs. Theme Sort (found at the end of this lesson plan)

Post It Notes

Colored Pencils for Partner/bilingual pair work

Recommended Texts English:

Jangles A Big Fish Story by David Shannon

Library Lil by Suzanne Williams

Thunder Rose by Jerdine Nolan

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears: A West African Tale by Verna Aardema

Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema Websites

http://www.taleswithmorals.com/ Aesop’s Fables) http://myths.e2bn.org/index.php Myths and Legends

http://read.gov/aesop/ Recommended Texts Spanish:

Zulema y la bruja lechuza por Xavier Garza

Juan y el Chupacabras por Xavier Garza

La Lagartija y el Sol por Alma Flor Ada

La Historia de los Colores por Subcomandante Marcos

¡El Cucuy! por Joe Hayes

Anchors of Support

Turn and Talk Expectations Chart Good Listener Expectations Chart

http://www.taleswithmorals.com/

http://myths.e2bn.org/index.php

http://read.gov/aesop/


Genre Examples Anchor

Reading is Thinking


How Are We Learning? Partner Expectations, Group Work Expectations, Independent Work Expectations, Whole Class Expectations

Theme Anchor Charts


Theme vs. Main Idea

Differentiation

strategies

Special Education: For students with reading difficulty, fine motor (esp. writing) challenges, visual challenges, ADD or other difficulty focusing when overloaded with text, provide a double spaced copy of the text with an extra wide margin on the right. This will help allow them the space to take notes (and less text on the page is less distracting or intimidating). You may print copies of the modified fable below. Refer to the student’s IEP for other routinely offered accommodations

English Language Learners: Prepare copies of the text with tier 2 words bolded or underlined. Provide a visual support and student friendly definitions. Model using context clues to build vocabulary understanding. Many of Aesop’s Fables in Spanish can be found at Reading A-Z and at fábulas de Esopo .

Extension for Learning: Choose a traditional theme from a folktale and create a modern tale with a similar theme. The story could reflect a different culture and/or have a different setting. Be sure to address a particular audience (might be peers or younger students).

21st Century Skills

CRITICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING: Make Judgments and Decisions

Effectively analyze and evaluate evidence, arguments, claims and beliefs. Analyze and evaluate major alternative points of view. Synthesize and make connections between information and arguments.

Have students create arguments debunking the folktales that explain the beginnings, endings or explanations behind natural phenomenon or events from history. Use research to locate information to support thinking. Locate helpful information using the AISD Knowledge Portal through the AISD Cloud or iBistro. Guide students in utilizing the online encyclopedias. Students can present their arguments in the form of a presentation or on a blog or wiki.

English Language Proficiency Standards: Mandated by Texas Administrative Code (19 TAC §74.4), click on the link for English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) to support English Language Learners.

http://www.readinga-z.com/book.php?id=261

http://www.edyd.com/

http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter074/ch074a.html#74.4

http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter074/ch074a.html#74.4


Lesson Cycle

Engage

Provide a list of key words and phrases from the Youtube video: The Lion and the Mouse – Aesop Fables video. Key words and phrases include: sleeping, sharp teeth, lion, paws, forest, roared loudly, free you, mane, hunter’s net, tiny mouse, help me

Instruct each table group to try to figure out what the story is about based on the clues in this list. Suggest that students try to figure out words that will fit into the story elements (character(s), setting, problem, solution).

After the groups have made their predictions, show the video.

Tell students that this week they will be exploring different types of stories that belong to the genre of folktales (fairy tales, fables, legends, and myths) and will be comparing and contrasting the stories.

Lesson stages

Day 1 - Traditional Literature: Folktales SE Focus Lesson

Begin with a read aloud of a folk tale suggested in the Lesson Preparation section.

Stop at various points during the read aloud (before, during, and after) to think aloud about the kinds of thoughts you have while reading to reinforce the previous week’s Reading is Thinking lessons. Question students on the story elements they learned last week to spiral their learning.

Ask the students to volunteer any noticings and characteristics about the book, and list them on chart paper or use a digital tool such as Inspiration or Padlet (here is a link to help you incorporate Padlet in your classroom: https://padlet.com/)

Create a working definition from student responses of the Folktale on the Genre Anchor Chart used in Week One. Also, add examples or titles of this genre as the year progresses as a reference for the students. This chart can be added to as different genres are explored.

ACTIVITY 1 Review and model Turn and Talk and Good Listener expectations.

With partners or table groups, have the students explore other texts in this genre with a book flood, or with the folktales in the Treasures textbook or leveled readers (listed in the Lesson Preparation section.)

Have the students talk about and report to the whole group the characteristics of the text they see ‘often’ vs. the characteristics they see ‘all of the time’ in the folktales.

During Activity 1 the teacher actively monitors the partner’s discussions, checking for understanding, clarifying instructions and/or scaffolding instruction.

ACTIVITY 2 - Independent Reading: Using Post It Notes to Record Your Thinking Review Independent Reading Expectations from Week One, and have students read for a specific amount of time, gradually increasing the amount of time each day.

During Independent Reading today, have the students read from the folktale books gathered for this genre study and remind students about choosing a “just right book” from Week One’s lessons.

Have students use sticky notes to record their thinking about the books they are reading today, and have them focus on the setting of the story. Provide these questions to guide the students’ thinking about setting: - When does the story take place? - Does the story talk about a specific time? - Can you make inferences about when the story takes place based on the pictures or

ideas in the story?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzyvmC1FAt0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzyvmC1FAt0

https://padlet.com/


- Where does the story take place? - Does the story talk about a specific place? - Can you make inferences about where the story takes place based on the pictures or

ideas in the story?

While the students are reading, begin Reading Conferences with your students. During the conference, let your students know that you will be checking to see if they are choosing books appropriately based on the “Choosing a Just Right Book” criteria. This will also give your students a chance to talk about their reading, and the strategies they are using to sustain their reading (decoding and fix-up strategies), as well as the thinking they are doing to understand the big ideas in the text.

You might want to do a quick running record or fluency check during this time or you may do an informal reading inventory such as Flynt-Cooter or AIMS Web to gather information about your students’ reading levels.

Keeping a Conference Log is a great way to document the progress of each child, and is useful for parent conferences, 504 and ARD meetings, eCSTs, etc. An example of a Conference Log is included at the end of this lesson.

Whole Group Closure

Have students share their sticky notes and what they discovered about the setting of the folktale books they chose to read during independent reading today.

Guide them into conversations that compare and contrast the setting (per TEK 3.5B.)

Day 2 - Folktales: Compare and Contrast Story Elements

SE Focus Lesson

Choose another folktale read aloud other than the genre you read on Day 1 (fairy tale, fable, or myth, from the recommended text list in the Lesson Preparation section of this lesson. You may also use a text of your own that has easy to identify story elements (characters, setting, plot, sequence.)

Refer to the “Reading is Thinking” chart you introduced last week and remind students that you stopped to listen to your reader’s voice as you read. Explain that today you will stop periodically as you read aloud to allow students to share what their reader’s voice is saying as they listen to the story. Plan stopping points at places in the story where it is natural for a reader to notice their reader’s voice (e.g. a place where you might ask a question, be surprised, or wonder what will happen next.)

ACTIVITY 1

Focus the students’ discussion towards the story elements of the text by asking guiding questions such as:

Asking questions is something good readers do. - Who are the main characters in this story? - What is the setting of my story and how does it shape the plot? - I wonder what will happen next? - What has happened so far in the story? - What has surprised me so far about this story? By putting yourself in (the character’s) place, your reader’s voice has questions about how (the character) feels.

Have students Turn and Talk to discuss these questions, one at a time. Remind your students of your expectations during a Turn and Talk.


After the whole class has identified the basic story elements, have the students volunteer ‘noticings’ about this genre. Create a working definition from student responses on the Genre Anchor Chart used in Week One. Also, add examples or titles of genre as the year progresses as a reference for the students.

ACTIVITY 1

Use the following Literature Comparison Chart as students explore different types of folktales:

Title Characters Setting Problem Solution Theme

Using the read alouds from both yesterday and today, have the students work with a

partner to complete the chart, leaving the Theme column blank. (An explicit lesson for teaching theme will come in Day 4.)

ACTIVITY 2 – Independent Reading

Students use the above literature chart to identify the story elements for the folktale they are reading independently. After they identify the story elements, students should write about similarities and differences between their independent reading book and one of the books you read together as a class. Students discuss these similarities and differences with their partner.

Whole Group Closure Ask students to share their ideas about similarities and differences between the story they read independently and one of the stories you read together as a class.

Day 3 – Ways We Preview a Text ACTIVITY 1

Tell the students that they will now work with a partner/bilingual pair to read together a short text from Treasures, “Flycatcher and Coyote” pp. 592-593 or Tesoros, “Mosquerito y Coyote” pp. 620-621.

Review expectations for Partner Work. (See the ‘How Are We Learning? Chart, Partner Expectations in the Anchors of Support section.)

Instruct students to talk about the story elements of the text after reading. Provide guiding questions such as: - Who are the Characters? - What is the setting of the story? - What is the problem and solution the main character is facing?

During Activity 1 the teacher actively monitors the partners’ discussions, checking for understanding, clarifying instructions and/or scaffolding instruction.

Have student pairs fill in the Searching for a Theme graphic organizer (at the end of this lesson) using the short text from Treasures, “Flycatcher and Coyote” pp. 592-593 , or or Tesoros, “Mosquerito y Coyote” pp. 620-621, filling in only the title, characters, problem, solution, and summary sections. The message and theme boxes will be filled in on Day 4.

Partner/bilingual pair work can be done using different colored pencils within their writing to show proof of contribution.

Let students know that the message and the theme sections needs to be blank and will be revisited during tomorrow’s lesson on Theme.


Independent Reading Review Independent Reading Expectations, and have students read for a specific amount of time, increasing the amount from the day before.

During Independent Reading time today, have students read from the folktale books you

gathered for this week and talk briefly about the things that helped you to decide this is the book you want to read today, such as: - it was a book recommended by a friend - the topic is interesting, or - the title and/or book cover caught your attention

Develop an anchor chart about “Ways We Preview Text”. Explain that once a reader has chosen a book, they do certain things to get their ‘reader’s mind’ ready to read. For example, you might read the title and think about how the title relates to the topic of the book. Ask students to share with you the ways they preview a text. Add their ideas to the chart.

Your chart may look similar to this:

Writing to Learn Journals

Ask students to think about the ways they preview their own books during independent reading time today. Students should record their thinking in their Writing to Learn Journals.

During Independent Reading and Writing to Learn, you may continue having Reading Conferences and doing informal reading inventories and assessments (Flynt-Cooter, AIMS Web, etc.)

Whole Group Closure

Have students share their ideas from Independent Reading about previewing text. Guiding questions for discussion could be: - Why is it important for readers to preview a book before reading? - How does this help you in choosing that “just right” book?

Day 4 - Finding the Theme in Folktales

Remember to refer back to the Whole Group Direct Teach expectations daily.

SE Focus Lesson

Choose another type of folktale to read aloud, other than the ones you explored in Day 1 & 2 (fairy tales, fables, legends, or myths from the recommended texts in the Lesson Preparation section.) Or you may choose one of your own books that has easy to identify story elements (characters, setting, plot, sequence).

Ways We Preview Text

Think about the title

Read the information on the back cover

Try the beginning

Try a little from the middle

Think about the genre


After the basic story elements have been identified whole class, have the students volunteer their ‘noticings’ about this genre. Create a working definition from student responses on your Genre Anchor Chart. Also, add examples or titles of different types of folktales as the year progresses.

The focus for this lesson will for students to use the plot of the story to determine theme.

Tell students, “Today we’re going to use three steps to help us accurately identify the theme of the traditional literature we are reading. These steps are:

(1) Identify the main character; (2) notice and describe any change in that character, using text as evidence to support your thinking (think about problem and solution); (3) ask yourself, “Why did the author include this change, and what life lesson does it teach us?”

Show the Theme Comprehension Animated Lesson from Connect Ed (Treasures) (located on the teacher resources page) to introduce theme using the above three questions to guide you during the video.

Display and discuss the Theme anchor chart adding any ideas from student discussion. The Theme anchor chart can be found in the Anchors of Support section of this lesson plan.

Bring students back to the Literature Comparison Chart started on Day 2 and add today’s read aloud to the chart.

Title Characters Setting Problem Solution Theme

Using the three steps outlined above and the Literature Comparison Chart, guide students to identify the theme of each of the read alouds, filling in the Theme box.

ACTIVITY 1

Using the ‘Searching for a Theme’ graphic organizer from Day 3 Activity 1, have student pairs fill in the last two boxes with the theme from Treasures, “Flycatcher and Coyote” pp. 592-593 , or or Tesoros, “Mosquerito y Coyote” pp. 620-621.

Partner work can be done using different colored pencils within their writing to show proof of contribution.


ACTIVITY 2 – Independent Reading & Writing to Learn Journal Review Independent Reading Expectations, and have students read for a specific amount of time, increasing the amount from the day before.

Explain to the students that during independent reading, they should also write in their Writing to Learn Journal. They may write independently in response to this question: - How does knowing the parts of a folktale (story elements) help you determine the

theme of the story? Provide this sentence stem: “Knowing the story elements of a folktale story helps me to understand the story better because…”

If students are not practiced in writing in these journals, model a response of your own, or have the students volunteer their ideas for a class response.

Continue with Reading Conferences and Informal Reading Assessments


Whole Group Closure

Encourage a few students to share their responses from their Writing to Learn Journals.

Day 5 - Main Idea vs. Theme and Checking for Understanding

Remember to refer back to Whole Group Direct Teach expectations daily. SE Focus Lesson

Students usually have a difficult time knowing the difference between main idea and theme. Students state the main idea of a part of the text when sequencing events in a story. Today you will integrate main idea and theme in a way that will improve their understanding of both.

First, make an anchor chart together where you brainstorm a few random themes and then write the main idea of some of the books you read together as a class this week. See the Theme vs. Main Idea anchor chart in the Anchors of Support section of this lesson plan.

Reinforce the idea that themes are universal, whereas main idea statements include specific details and are usually specific to one story.

ACTIVITY 1 Remind students about the procedures of Turn and Talk and being a good listener using the guidelines addressed in the above anchor chart.

With partners or table groups, have students do a quick sort with the Main Idea and Theme cards attached at the end of this lesson.

They will sort the definitions as well as a few examples of both main idea and theme.


Independent Reading – Checking for Understanding Remind students of the expectations and procedures of Independent Reading adding time to build stamina.

While preparing for Independent Reading today, model how to check for understanding as you read.

Using a short text, model a part of the text that doesn’t make sense to you. Explain that good readers learn to check their understanding as they read. Use these think alouds as a model: - “I understood ______________, but when I read _________ I was confused by

_____________ because…so I went back and reread that part of the text and thought about…”

- “When I read the word/phrase/part of the text_____________, it didn’t make sense to me because….so I looked at the diagram that explained it and it helped me to see that…”

Encourage students to use the Reading is Thinking chart to provide “fix-up” strategies to get back on track.

Other fix-up strategies include: - rereading a portion of the text - finding out the meaning of an unknown word - studying text features These strategies can help readers to try to gain additional information while they are reading that may help them get back on track.


You will need to revisit this Checking for Understanding strategy often with your struggling readers. It is important for your struggling readers to be able to identity exactly where their comprehension breaks down and what causes it. The fix up strategies are easy to identify once they know when and why their understanding breaks down.

ACTIVITY 2

While they are reading today, have students practice checking for understanding and monitoring comprehension.

Have students choose one Writing to Learn question to respond to today: - How are Main Idea and Theme the same and how are they different? Use the book

you are reading independently to explain your thinking. - What fix-up strategies did I use while reading independently today?

Teacher may continue with Reading Conferences and Informal Reading Assessments during independent reading today.

Whole Class Closure

After reading, ask students to share with the class some of the fix-up strategies they noticed themselves using during Independent Reading today.

Closure

Activity

Bring your readers together to discuss how once in a while readers choose a book to read, and even after they’ve read some of it and tried to give it a fair chance, they decide they don’t want to read it. They are no longer interested in the book, and they want to stop reading it. This is called ‘abandoning a book’.

Remind them that, if we are careful when we select books and we preview the book before reading it, we shouldn’t have to abandon a book very often.

Ask students to help you create a chart that shows good reasons why a reader might decide to abandon a book. A suggested chart is below:

Check for Understanding (Evaluation)

Formative:

Teacher observations with Turn and Talk activities

Monitoring independent reading

Keep anecdotal notes while students are working with partners and groups. Use these notes to help guide further direct support for students in needing differentiation strategies

Literature Comparison chart, including themes

Quick Sort with Main Idea vs. Theme cards

Summative:

Writing to Learn Journal Entries

Searching for a Theme graphic organizer

Reasons to Abandon a Book:

It’s too easy or too difficult

The characters are not interesting

I don’t understand what is happening in the story

I don’t like this author’s style of writing

The book is confusing

It’s too much like the last book I read. I’m ready for something different.


Student Name____________________

Reading Conference Log

Date Genre/Book Title Conference Notes Goals


Name:

Searching for a Theme

Title:

Summary

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

Characters Setting Problem & Solution

A lesson learned by the character.

(Think about the problem/solution)

THE MEssage you can take from

the story?

lesson components prior learning: standards(texas...

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